The Balkan was one of the surprises of the Argentina Open 2024. A few days before the start of the tournament, the organization announced that one of the invitations to the main draw was assigned to the European, currently 1042 in the ATP ranking and who will also play in Santiago de Chile and Rio de Janeiro. His resounding fall in the ranks is due to a complex injury to his right knee which he suffered in Pune, India, in his first tournament of 2023. Since then, he played and lost four matches; This year he only competed in the Honk Kong competition.
After a 2022 that saw him reintegrate into the Top 15 again after reaching the semifinals of Roland Garros and playing the last match in Tel Aviv, his dream was to be elite again the following season, but first the meniscus and then a cartilage gave him an unexpected brake. All at 34 years old.
Together with Carlos Alcaraz and Stan Wawrinka, Cilic is one of the international stars of the ATP in Buenos Aires. Since 2010, three Grand Slam champions have not coincided in the country (14 years ago they were Gastón Gaudio, Carlos Moya and Juan Carlos Ferrero).
Marin Cilic: It is the second time I am in Argentina. I played Davis Cup in 2012.
Journalist: That series in which David Nalbandian was not feeling well and Del Potro already had problems with his wrist.
MC: Exact. In Parque Roca, haha.
Cilic’s laughter comes from the complex pronunciation of the name of the property where the Mary Terán de Weiss stadium is located, with exaggerated R’s and more of an Italian than a Croatian accent.
“It is strange to deal with surgery, and during that meniscus process I also had a cartilage problem. It was a situation that I had to deal with daily to see how the knee was evolving.”outline for Ambit the champion of the 2014 US Open, when he defeated the Japanese in the final Kei Nishikori for a triple 6-3 and after eliminating Roger Federer in semis. Then, the negative comparisons with “Delpo” began to diminish.
Now the native of Medjugorje, a city in Bosnia, assures that the most difficult moment has passed and a new challenge arises in his career. “I’m feeling very good. If I compare with the situation before the injury, not at that level, but very close. “I am very positive”be hope.
The first days of 2023 were not easy: first the injury, and immediately the surgery. The knee is always a complex intervention for an athlete. It was six months of determination and desire, until he returned to the circuit in August, precisely in Umag, Croatia, where he began his professional career. The adventure did not turn out well, as pains and cloudy questions appeared that fluttered in his mind: “I really doubted if I was ever going to get my knee right again.”.
“Have I ever thought about retirement?” Yes. Honestly, sometime in August last year, after playing in Umag, my knee was not good, it was a disaster. “I wandered around a bit, wondering if I had to have surgery again.”, he is sincere with a grim gesture. Her deep voice further accentuates the seriousness of what she experienced.
Although there was the possibility of undergoing surgery again, Cilic opted for other treatments “and since then I have been much better.” However, although he avoided the unwanted scalpel, the season was already over.
“Chila”, as those close to him call him, went from an irregular 2020 to a 2021 still marked by the untimely ups and downs generated by Covid and to a 2022 that saw him reborn, despite having been sick from the coronavirus. With his team, his motivation was full and they hoped to recover those performances from 2017 and 2018 that took him to number 3 in the world.
Reflective and poised, at 35 years old and with a very long career on the ATP Tour, he now focuses “on a new challenge.” “Everything has been gradually improving since August, but now my challenge is not easy. Many players had injury problems, and I am interested in seeing the mentality, the psychology and how the body reacts,” he says under the intense lights, stifling heat and crushing humidity in Palermo.
The clouds of a sudden retreat have already cleared: “It would have been sad if that was the end, because I felt good”. Cilic is the fifth active player with the most titles, 20 in total, the same amount as Daniil Medvedev. At 35 years old, with the Salad Bowl of the Davis cup in their showcases and a career that many would like to have, there is still one goal left.
Q: What comes next in your path?
MC: The rest of my body is fine, I feel young, motivated. He was playing well, 2022 had been a great season. I would like to play two or three more seasons to have that good feeling again and obviously stop when I feel it is the right time to do so.
Those words sound very similar to those repeated so many times by Del Potro. Precisely, the “Torre de Tandil” and Cilic starred in an epic battle in Zagreb in the 2016 Davis Cup final. That afternoon, the Argentine reversed two sets against and left the national team alive to Federico Delbonis, a while later, he would pay off the debt. The Croatian finally lifted the trophy in 2018, the last edition of the tournament’s old format.
Q: In addition to all the similarities you have with Juan Martín, there is also the fact that both injured their right knees, although you continue in competition. Did you think about him, did you talk?
MC: Obviously for “Delpo” everything was extremely difficult after winning the US Open. At a very early stage of his career he played brilliant tennis, and then he started having his injury problems and they were all ups and downs. That is very difficult for the mental state and psychology of any player. I spoke to him when I passed him, not when he left. We have shared many moments together on the courts.
The time limit is over and the former king of New York must continue with his media commitments. “Thank you very much,” he says in response to the good wishes. Like Del Potro, his imposing basketball physique hides a gentle and warm manner. It’s time for another opportunity for Cilic.
Source: Ambito
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
